ASUU halts academic activities, begins two-week strike over unmet demands

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has directed its members in all federal and state universities to withdraw their services for two weeks, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.

The union’s national president, Prof. Chris Piwuna, announced the “total and comprehensive” warning strike at a press briefing in Abuja after a 14-day ultimatum to the federal government expired.

ASUU told journalists that the industrial action became unavoidable because the government had failed to take “meaningful steps” to meet the union’s long-standing demands.

The union warned that unless concrete action is taken within the two-week period it will not hesitate to extend the strike indefinitely.

ASUU’s leadership called on civil society, the media and well-meaning Nigerians to press the government to resolve the dispute.

The union’s statement lists a package of grievances and demands, including the re-negotiation and full implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, sustainable funding and revitalisation of public universities, payment of promotion and salary arrears, resolution of outstanding earned academic allowances, and concerns about alleged victimisation of members at specific institutions.

Ahead of the strike, the Federal Government appealed to ASUU to shelve the planned action, insisting it was taking steps to address issues raised by university staff.

The Education Minister, Tunji Alausa, has pointed to government measures including releases for earned allowances and budgetary provisions for revitalisation, and said a reconstituted negotiation committee was preparing a counter-offer.

Nonetheless, ASUU said the state of play remained insufficient to avert the two-week warning strike.

The strike will halt lectures, examinations and many campus services in public universities nationwide — disrupting the academic calendar for hundreds of thousands of students and affecting research, postgraduate programmes and international collaborations.

Observers warn that even a short warning strike can cascade into longer closures if negotiations break down, as occurred in past disputes.

ASUU itself has signalled that the period is intended as a window for the government to take decisive action; failure to do so could see the action extended.

ASUU and the federal government have a long history of protracted disputes over funding, conditions of service and implementation of agreements.

The union’s most recent nationwide stoppage of such magnitude lasted several months in 2022, and that lengthy disruption remains a reference point for students and policymakers worried about repeated stoppages that undermine higher education outputs and graduate timelines.

Whether the government’s negotiation committee produces a package that ASUU’s National Executive Council deems satisfactory before the two-week period ends.

Possible interventions from labour mediation bodies, civil society or state governors to bridge the divide.